Day 3: PNW trip

Mary and I are in Seattle on Day 3. Day 1 was our travel day and it turned out to be a very long day due to airplane mechanical problems and a huge thunder storm in Atlanta. We were supposed to arrive in Seattle at 7:38 pm PST and got here at 3:40 am PST! At least we got here. Long story but because of two nice women, Danielle and Leslie, at the Delta counter in Atlanta, we were able to get 2 seats on the next plane to Seattle. The flight was scheduled to leave at 9:47 pm and finally got off the ground at 1:30 am EST. We met a really interesting man while we were waiting for the second plane to leave. Dave is an oceanographer who will be in Brunei, Borneo in a week and specializes in robotic submarines and the Titanic. Weather delay shut down all the Atlanta flights due to a huge thunder storm. By the time we got to our hotel in Bellevue, it was 4:30 am. We slept for 2 hours and we managed just fine for the rest of the day.

We rented our car at the hotel (easy) through Avis and got upgraded to a Ford Fusion for a discounted price of an extra $5 per day. Turns out it is a nice car and so worth the extra $. Mary got us breakfast coupons for free for 2 mornings from the night clerk when we checked in so we had breakfast in the hotel. Nice buffet and nice people that work for our hotel, the Hilton Bellevue.

Headed out to Seattle to go on our Pike Place Market food tour scheduled for 10:00 am. I had printed Google maps and used my map app on my iPhone so found the way easily to the parking garage and the start of the tour. I booked it with Savor Seattle and the 2 hr. tour turned out to be fun and very interesting. Our tour guide, Brett, was really funny! We would never have been able to find out all the information he gave our small group of 8 and we got to sample some good food. Fresh doughnuts, salmon, peach salsa and cherry products, Piroshky, clam chowder and seafood bisque, cheese, and crab cake bites.





We were getting tired so after the tour, headed back to our hotel. It's about a 20 min. ride back to Bellevue which is east of Seattle across Lake Washington. We drove around the residential area near our hotel and the gardens of the houses are gorgeous - maples, dogwoods, willows, rhododendrons, peonies, roses, etc. Mary and I got some coffee at the hotel coffee place and checked our email and chilled for a while. Ended up using our Subway gift cards for a free quick dinner and crashed early.

Today, we have gorgeous weather. Clear blue skies and 45 in early am. Supposed to get up to 73 by 4 pm. We are at a Starbucks in downtown Bellevue to use our Starbucks gift cards for free coffee and breakfast and to use the free Wi-Fi. We have a 1:00 pm appt. to go on a helicopter ride today. So exciting! Gorgeous flying weather, too.

More later.